Broken Illusion
by Remfart
Summary: The land of Gensokyo is once again threatened by a vampire menace. However, things are different this time around. Will a friendship that has lasted for centuries be destroyed?
1. Chapter 1

The sun was beginning to set and coolness enveloped the quiet land of Gensokyo. Reimu sat peacefully outside her home in the Hakurei Shrine and watched the last rays of light disappear over the Tengu Mountain. She sipped a hot cup of tea and sighed. _Ah, _she thought to herself, _the summer's already coming to a close… and I haven't resolved any incidents yet_…

Cirno flew overhead yelling about being the strongest and was obliterated by Aya Shameimaru flying by.

"Ah Crap! Did I just hit something?" Aya asked herself while scratching her head. She looked down and saw Reimu watching half-interestedly. "Hey Reimu! You didn't see anything did you?"

"No."

"Hm, okay then. Well, see you later!" Aya waved and hurriedly blasted off, disappearing from sight in seconds.

Reimu sighed again and continued sipping her tea. A small red card with a P on it floated into her cup. She took it and absorbed it into her hand, feeling slightly stronger. "Ah, that helps a little. I'll be ready for any kind of incident now."

Two visitors were coming up the steps to the Shrine. One was short, while the other was tall.

Reimu could hear their voices getting louder as they approached. She began to walk over to the entrance to greet them.

"… Sakuya, when will the repairs on the mansion be done?"

"The repairs should be done by tomorrow evening m'lady."

"Ahhh, I guess it can't be helped. But that damned thief needs to stop blowing holes through the walls; doesn't she know there's a front door?"

"I'll see what I can do m'lady."

"*sigh*"

Reimu met the two as they walked up to the front of the Shrine. Remilia and Sakuya were holding a few leather sacks that smelled of… blood? _Just what were they doing? _Wondered Reimu. "What brings you here?"

Remilia replied, "We decided to say hi since we were passing by. The Human village is very lively this time of day you know."

"What does that…"

Sakuya spoke up. "Actually Reimu, Remilia and I wanted to ask you if there have been any incidents as of late."

"Incidents?"

"Yes, in particular about vampires or similar youkai."

Reimu wondered why Remilia and Sakuya were interested but, she couldn't think of anything. "No… I can't really say an incident like that has come up. May I ask why?"

Remilia quickly replied, "N-No, it's quite alright. Just a passing thought is all."

"M'lady, it's getting dark. We should hurry and get back to the mansion."

Remilia nodded and turned to leave. "Reimu, if anything happens, I'll come by and see you." At that, the young vampire and her maid walked down the steps and returned home.

Reimu waved as they left and returned to her cup of tea, pausing to think about what Remilia said. _"If anything happens, I'll come by and see you." _She couldn't help but wonder what that meant, but let it go and began to prepare for bed. The howls of nighttime youkai could already be heard and the moon was beginning to rise. It was almost a full moon.

Reimu sighed, "Hah, I've got a bad feeling about this." She looked up at the moon and sighed again. _I've got a really bad feeling about this._

A month passed.

Fall was already underway and the leaves were turning brown and dropping. The shrine maiden at was busily sweeping them into piles and preparing for the coming winter. Many youkai were about, but many more were getting ready for hibernation. All seemed to be normal.

At that moment, Reimu heard a familiar voice and light footsteps hurrying up the stairs to the shrine.

"Reimu! Help!" Remilia was running frantically towards her with a scared look on her face. "Please, something's happened!"

Reimu held the vampire girl in her arms and stroked her hair. "What's wrong?"

Remilia spoke between sobs, "I-It's Sakuya, s-she's..."

"What?"

Remilia looked into Reimu's face and said, "Sakuya's become a vampire!"

It was a full moon.


	2. Chapter 2

The full moon bathed Gensokyo in an eerie light, illuminating the hills and tree tops. Shadows of youkai could be seen flitting here and there, adding to the otherwise motionless night. Remilia sobbed in Reimu's arms, her tears leaving dark spots on the miko's dress.

Reimu tugged Remilia away and said, "I need to know more about this. Come into my home and we can talk about it more."

The young vampire nodded shakily and followed Reimu. Once inside, she sat down on a floor cushion without asking and wiped her tears. Remilia composed herself and was straightening up as Reimu walked in with two cups of tea.

She sat next to Remilia and handed her a cup. "Tell me what happened."

Remilia took the cup of tea and held it in her hand, looking at a sideways tea stalk. She slowly took a sip and then began to tell her story.

"It happened a few days after Sakuya and I visited you last month. Do you remember?"

Reimu nodded and waited for her to continue.

"You see, the reason we were interested is because Sakuya began to show symptoms of vampirism. She didn't have much energy and her focus was dulling. Whenever I called for Sakuya, she didn't come quickly and had a hard time paying attention. Aside from that, she would hesitate to go outside into the sun, even if her intention was to punish Meiling." Remilia paused before continuing. "I knew from the beginning what was wrong and asked her about it. She wouldn't admit anything to me and… and then one day I caught her in the basement feeding on the bodies of rats to sate her hunger."

Reimu felt her stomach twist slightly after picturing that in her head, but quickly got over it.

"Remilia, can't you do anything to help Sakuya? You _are_ a powerful vampire, so it shouldn't be hard to fix her, right?"

Remilia sighed and said, "It would be wonderful if things were as simple as that, but they're not. Only Patchouli and myself know what I'm about to tell you." A stern look came over her face as she continued, "Sakuya has the blood of a vampire in her already. Long ago, she fought a powerful vampire lord and almost lost her life. In the final moments of the battle, the vampire lord saw potential in Sakuya and chose to spare her. He gave Sakuya his blood to make her into his slave. However, she managed to resist his spell and defeated him, but not without having some of the effects take their toll."

Reimu was shocked and asked, "Then, how did she come to meet you?"

Remilia continued, "I knew who she was going to attack that night and made my way over to the castle to watch the battle. Sakuya was very well known then as a powerful vampire hunter, so naturally I was interested in seeing her."

"Just how long ago was this exactly?"

Remilia thought for a second. "Well, maybe eight centuries ago? I'm not sure. It might have even been a millennium."

_Dear god_, thought Reimu to herself.

"Anyway, Sakuya barely managed to stand herself up after the battle and when she saw me emerge from the shadows," Remilia looked away, "she desperately tried to kill me. It was easy to dodge her and eventually she stopped and collapsed on the ground. The vampire blood was beginning to take over and she didn't have much time. When it took over completely, Sakuya would have lost all her memories and everything that made her herself and instead, she would have become a reincarnation of the vampire lord. So I made a deal with her. If she became my slave, I would seal the vampire blood so she could remain the way she was."

"I see how that worked out."

Remilia nodded and continued, "And now something has caused the seal I placed on her to break, releasing the vampiric powers that were sleeping."

Reimu was still a little confused about Sakuya's vampire side. "Hold on, why don't you just seal her again like you did last time? The same thing doesn't work twice or what?"

"Because Reimu, the vampire was stronger than I. The first time I was able to do it because the blood was weak, but now that it has had time to gather and grow stronger, it is beyond my capabilities."

Reimu couldn't understand how any vampire could be stronger than Remilia, so she had to ask. "Remilia, who was that vampire, and how could he have been stronger than you?"

Remilia looked up to the ceiling and then sipped her tea. She smiled slightly as if remembering something nostalgic and continued, "the vampire's name was Vlad Tepes, or Dracula as the outside world likes to call him now."

Remilia looked Reimu in the eye and said sternly, "He was my father."

A loud crash came from outside, followed by a low growl.

"S-Sakuya?!" Remilia stammered. Her eyes were wide with fear and her lips trembled slightly.

Reimu jumped up alarmed and quickly pulled aside the sliding door.

Outside, a shadowy figure lurched about, tearing up patches of ground and knocking over trees. It stopped and glared at Reimu with feral red eyes that seemed a bit like Reisen Udonge's lunatic eyes.

Remilia slowly edged behind Reimu and murmured, "That's not Sakuya."

Without warning, the shadow or rather the feral youkai, lunged at Reimu with claws outstretched, aiming to tear open her throat.

She reacted quickly and pulled a talisman out of her sleeve, repelling the attack with a shield. "Remilia, this youkai isn't itself. Could this be the work of Sakuya?"

The youkai stumbled about clumsily in a rigid manner. It prepared to lunge again, but Reimu dashed towards it and knocked it over with a powerful kick to the abdomen. She then pulled out another talisman and began chanting a sutra to purge the youkai.

There was a bright flash of light and the youkai stopped moving. A dark shadowy mist rose up from its body and dissipated into the night air.

Remilia ran up to Reimu and looked at the unconscious heap on the ground. "Hey, isn't that…"

The unconscious youkai opened its eyes and looked at the two girls standing over it. "… Huh? What am I doing over here?"

Reimu spoke up, "Yoshika, do you remember what happened to you at all?"

The Chinese vampire appeared confused. "What do you mean? I was just chasing a few humans for fun when next thing I know, I'm here talking to you."

"Can you move?"

"Well, I feel pretty stiff, but yeah. I can move enough to get up." Yoshika's entire body made sickening cracks and snaps as she slowly stood up.

Remilia was covering her ears, "That was… disturbing."

"So… what's going on, Reimu?" Asked Yoshika.

Reimu replied, "It appears we have quite an incident on our hands again and you got caught up in it by accident."

"Really? Neat!"

"It's not something you should get excited over, you know…"

Remilia had been deep in thought and looked up at Yoshika. _This idiot couldn't possibly have done this on purpose. But then, what was that dark mist? _As she pondered it, a thought came. "Reimu, it's quite possible that Sakuya's power has grown to such an extent that youkai are falling under her spell without actually being in direct contact with her."

Reimu turned to face Remilia. "Is that possible? Well, I guess it makes sense… sorta."

"We need to get back to my mansion and put a stop to this. However, it will not be easy. No doubt just the two of us will not be able to stop Sakuya. At this rate, we need help."

Yoshika bounced up and down, "Hey, I'll help if that's okay!" She had no fear or common sense.

Reimu nodded and asked Remilia, "So what do we do now?"

Remilia pointed in a direction beyond the shrine gates and said, "Let's go to Eientei. Perhaps they can help us with a potion to defeat Sakuya."

The moon moved across the night sky and with it, three new vampire hunters - with two actual vampires amongst them, heading to the bamboo forest.


	3. Chapter 3

The Bamboo Forest was dark and damp, allowing only occasional rays of light to stain the grassy ground. Three adventurers seeking to defeat Sakuya and resolve the current incident were on the way to Eientei, a place where Eirin, famous for her medical knowledge, resided. They hoped to obtain some kind of potion that would counteract the blood of Dracula that was manifesting itself inside Sakuya, or at least to get something that would help them defeat her. Time was of the essence however, for the longer the trio spent searching for a way to win, Sakuya grew ever stronger.

Reimu stopped the group as they were walking and pointed ahead. Someone was blocking the path.

"Hey, what're we stoppin' for?" asked Yoshika from the very back of the group.

Remilia shot her a menacing look.

The Chinese vampire immediately quieted down and stood still.

Reimu stepped forward and confronted the mysterious blocker saying, "Whoever you are, could you please move? We're on a very important mission right now you know."

The stranger muttered something and raised his/her right arm.

"What?" asked Reimu.

A concentrated ball of light appeared at the stranger's right hand as he/she exclaimed, "MAAAASTER SPAAAARK!" and a gigantic energy beam shot towards the party.

"HOLY-," exclaimed Reimu as she jumped out of the way with Remilia and Yoshika following suit.

"Ahhhhh, that feels good!" exclaimed Yoshika as she grazed the majority of the attack, due to being too slow to dodge it completely. "Wow, I should get an extra life or a bomb at least for that."

"What are you talking about?" asked Remilia in an annoyed tone.

The stranger laughed, "haha, at least you were quick enough to dodge my greatest attack, I'll give kudos for that, ze."

Reimu got up and brushed herself off, muttering under her breath. She shook her fist at the "stranger" and yelled, "DAMMIT MARISA! What are you doing here!?"

Marisa pulled her broom out from somewhere and sat on it, levitating above the ground. She smirked and gave Reimu a thumb down, "Ze!"

Remilia stepped forward and confronted Marisa saying, "Look into my eyes, and tell me what you see."

"I won't fall for your mind control, ze."

"Then why are you about to hit yourself with your broom?"

She looked confused and realized she was holding her broom in her hand. "Why am I going to hit myself… with my… broom…" drooled Marisa.

Remilia smiled and turned to the rest of the party. "You guys might want to look away and cover your ears."

Reimu and Yoshika did so, glancing at Marisa one time before turning around. She was holding the broom handle up to her eye.

Remilia laughed sadistically as she forced Marisa to torture herself.

After some time, Remilia motioned to the others that it was okay to look again.

Marisa was crumpled on the ground twitching and moaning with several red lashes marking her face.

"Ooooowwww… my butt hurts…" groaned Marisa. "You didn't have to go that far, ze."

Reimu stepped over to the ordinary witch groaning on the ground and poked her in the ribs with her foot.

Marisa yelped in pain.

"What were you doing blocking us like that?" asked Reimu. "You wouldn't be so, er, "hurt" if you just let us pass."

"Ow… Well, I was really bored I guess. 'Thought that it would be good to practice some danmaku or something on you guys."

Reimu sighed, "Hah, guess it couldn't be helped. But still…"

Remilia spoke up, "You know, this is a lot like when the Imperishable Night incident occurred, isn't it? Does that mean if we continue on to Eientei those rabbits will start attacking us?"

Yoshika hopped over to join the group and commented, "Oh? That was the Imperishable Night? I had no idea what was going on, my master was having me test how effective candle wax is in torture."

No one paid her any attention.

Marisa slowly got to her feet and brushed herself off. She put her mini Hakkero back in her pocket and sat on the broom. "Eientei is actually just ahead. To tell the truth, Eirin asked me to stall you guys for a bit so she could finish up some business with Udonge."

"Well whatever, can we get through now?" asked Reimu impatiently.

"Sure. But uh… can I go with you?"

Reimu hesitated but Remilia spoke and said, "Yes, why not. We do need all the help we can get after all."

"Ze."

"And stop saying that or the broom will have lots of splinters next time."

_Next time? _ Wondered Reimu.

The group of four continued through the bamboo forest, carefully picking their way through the wreckage caused by Marisa's Master Spark. Occasionally, a panda bear appeared on a stalk of bamboo and watched the travelers with mild interest. Nothing jumped out at them, but spooky sounds kept the party on alert, even if they were completely normal things like a night owl or insect.

A mansion was coming into sight as they continued. Small rabbits ran this and way and that, getting in the way of their feet and nearly being crushed.

"Argh, these stupid fur balls keep running into me. Don't their masters discipline them or anything?" complained Marisa.

Yoshika seemed to be having fun jumping over the rabbits as they lined up in front of her.

The party reached the entrance and let themselves in.

"Helloooo? Is anyone around?" called Reimu.

"Maybe they're out," suggested Remilia.

At that moment, footsteps could be heard outside the door on the opposite side of the room. It opened and Eirin walked in, followed by Kaguya and a very depraved looking Reisen.

"Ah, what brings such exciting company at this time of night?" asked Eirin.

"We were hoping to get your help in a very pressing matter," answered Reimu.

Kaguya spoke, "Are you referring to that vampire at the Scarlet Devil Mansion? I thought it may have been the little one over there, but seeing as she is here, could it be the crazy one?"

Remilia responded in an irked tone, "No. It's neither of us. And that's the reason we are here."

"So what is it you want?" asked Eirin.

"Well, uh… It's because, um…" Reimu hesitatingly yammered.

Remilia answered for Reimu, "It's because my head maid, Sakuya, has become infected with vampirism and is growing too strong. She is a threat to all of Gensokyo now."

Eirin nodded and knew what it was they had come for. "So, you want something to cure her of the tainted blood, right? It would be much easier if you just went ahead and destroyed her, so why don't you?"

Remilia snapped back at Eirin and her eyes glowed red with anger. "Do not ever suggest such a foolish thing to me again! I will personally tear you limb from limb, peel the skin off your body and rub salt into the raw flesh, pierce your eyeballs with red-hot needles, sow your mouth shut, and keep you alive and "healthy" even after it is all over!"

Reimu was astonished at the way Remilia reacted to Eirin. Could this be a sign of how much she cared for Sakuya?

Eirin simply nodded and said, "Forgive me, I didn't mean to strike a nerve. There is a way to purge Sakuya of the blood using a potion, but the ingredients will be extremely difficult to procure. Of course, I have a few of the necessary items, but the most important parts must be sought out. Fortunately, I know where to find all of them... well, all but one."

Marisa stepped forward, "Well, what do we need and where do we find it?"

Eirin pulled out a piece of paper and began writing directions on it. "You will need to go to the Forest of Magic and find a Soul-less Black Mushroom. After that, the Tengu Mountain has a flower that grows on its summit called Lifeblossom, which you'll need 3 of. Down in the depths of Hellfire, you can find a Pure Soul and an Irradiated Gem. The cat and that stupid crow can probably help you. Travel to Myouren Temple and ask Byakuren for a Blessed Vial. After that… the last thing you will need is something I have never actually seen myself, so I don't even know if it exists. It's a legendary item that is said to be obtainable only by those who border life and death, neither dying nor living. You must find the Ancient Heart, a relic that is said to give powers equal to that of what the outside world calls The Omniscient God."

Marisa groaned and said, "Argh, that's gonna be a huge pain to find all that stuff. Isn't there any other way?"

"Well…"

Remilia walked up to Eirin and took the paper out of her hand. "We will set out immediately. There is no point in wasting time here if we can do nothing more."

Reimu sighed and turned to leave. Yoshika was outside hopping around with the rabbits. They seemed to think she was one of them. Marisa shuffled out the door and sat on her broom.

Eirin leaned close to Remilia and whispered in her ear, "There is a strong possibility that this will not work. Since I have never made the potion with all the ingredients, I cannot guarantee its success."

Remilia smiled and replied, "I know. But I will do whatever it takes to keep my loyal servants safe." She paused for a second and continued, "And I will definitely do what I must to save those that I… t-that I love."

Remilia quickly turned with the paper and walked outside, rejoining Reimu, Yoshika, and Marisa. The four adventurers conversed briefly to decide where to go.

"Hey, let's go to the Forest Magic, I think Alice might be able to help us find that mushroom," suggested Marisa in a strangely energetic tone.

"Well, we might as well go there I suppose. It seems to be the closest out of all the other places," agreed Reimu.

Remilia merely nodded.

Yoshika hopped in agreement.

"Alright, let's go then, ze!"

The party headed out and began walking in the direction of the Forest of Magic, or what they assumed to be the right way. Their voices could be heard fading away.

"… hey Reimu, don't you think this is kinda weird? It's like we're on a tour of Gensokyo or something, or even on a quest like in an RPG."

"What? Don't be ridiculous. Let's just go."

"Hehe, ze…"

The party faded from view.

Kaguya turned to Eirin and asked, "So, do you think they can find all the ingredients?"

Eirin looked up to the moon, "I don't know princess. This is an almost impossible task. The power of the Head Maid was fearsome already, but now that her abilities are being amplified by the vampiric transformation, I can't be certain of a bright future for any of us. Not to mention that she will most certainly not be herself after the change is complete. As for us," Eirin turned to Kaguya, "look up there." She pointed to the moon. "It might be a good time to visit, don't you think?"

"Yes, you may be right. Perhaps a long vacation is in order…"

The moon princess and her teacher stood in the pale moonlight, both wondering if Gensokyo would be able to survive this incident and whether or not the four adventurers would come back alive. They both understood that if Reimu and company failed to collect all the ingredients in time or they perished in doing so, nothing would survive in Gensokyo and more than likely, the border would be destroyed. Sakuya would go on to destroy the outside world and unless new heroes arose, old and new gods alike would become slaves to her.

Reisen moaned on the ground. She had collapsed during the meeting, but no one noticed her.

"Ah, I forgot about you." Eirin walked over and picked Reisen up. "Let's see about finishing those experiments, shall we?"

Kaguya chimed in, "Oh, what does that part of her do again?"

"I'll show you one more time, right Udonge?"

Tewi chose this time to reveal herself and popped out of the ceiling. She took a picture of Reisen and disappeared.

Udonge was crying and struggling desperately to escape as Eirin and Kaguya brought her into a room with a heavy steel door and shut it. Her cries could be heard the rest of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

The Scarlet Devil Mansion stood silently, bathed in pale moonlight and showed no signs of life inside or outside. Meiling was not present at her position in front of the gate nor was there any youkai activity in the area. At first glance, a passerby who had not yet fallen to Sakuya's influence would have thought the mansion was burning in crimson flame.

A distraught half-vampire roamed the halls and moaned in agony. She searched for something, anything, to ease her pain. The floor and ceiling where her presence passed became scorched and distorted with a dark miasma.

"Please, anything… just leave me alone! Get out of my head!" Sakuya struggled to control the power that welled inside her, as well as the being that was trying to take over.

_Sakuya, if you stop trying to control me, I can make the pain go away and you won't have to worry about hurting ever again. How about it? Just let me have your body._

"No, I won't allow you to hurt my friends, never!" Images of Remilia and the residents of the mansion flashed into her mind.

_Very well, I'll retreat this time. It seems I still require some time before my true power returns. Until then, stay alive my pretty little flower._

The pain subsided and Sakuya collapsed onto the ground. She panted heavily and sweat ran down her face and dripped onto the floor. Looking back, the extent of the damage did not surprise her. This was not the first time Dracula attempted to control her.

A soft voice came from the end of the hallway. "Sakuya, are you feeling better?"

She slowly gathered herself and stood up. "Yes Patchy, I'm fine. Dracula can't take me quite yet."

The bookworm walked over to the maid and began to chant a spell. "This will soothe your aches."

A soft light encompassed Sakuya and her pain slowly ebbed away.

"Thanks Patchy. You're a great friend."

"Of course. Would you like to visit the library? I have something that might interest you."

Sakuya nodded and followed Patchouli down the labyrinth of hallways and stairs until she came to a large wooden double door. Upon pushing through it, she found herself in a gigantic library with at least a hundred rows of bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling about a hundred yards high. Small tables with lanterns on them were scattered between all the bookshelves and a single desk with piles of books on it and two chairs sat in the center of the room. Two small wings could be seen bouncing around over the tops of the books.

Patchy called out, "Koakuma, can you prepare tea for three please?"

"Huh? We have a visitor?"

"It's Sakuya."

"Wha- Ahhhhh!" The books fell down and the small wings disappeared under a large pile.

"Oh dear, Koakuma, can you stop messing around and get the tea already?" urged Patchy.

"… mmmf. mkay." A muffled acknowledgement came from the pile of books and Koakuma climbed out. She dusted off her suit and straightened out her wings. "I'll be back shortly." While walking to the small kitchen on the other side of the library, she slipped on a book lying on the ground and fell over. "Ow! Not again…"

Patchouli sighed and turned to Sakuya. "Well, will you take a seat over at the desk in the center?"

The two sat down and Patchy produced a red book from one of the stacks on the desk.

"This is a grimoire of all the encounters with vampires over the centuries and past millennia. Perhaps you can find a way to better control your new powers and that… being inside you."

Sakuya thanked her and took the book. Upon opening it, a thick cloud of dust exploded outwards and covered everything in a layer of grime. "*cough* this hasn't been opened in a *cough* long time."

Patchouli showed no indication of being bothered by the dust. She was already reading another book.

Despite the friendly air, everyone in the mansion feared Sakuya. No one could tell when she might go on a rampage or whether or not she would recover from it. It didn't have to be spoken, but everyone accepted her as the new master ever since Remilia was defeated. Even Flandre respected her now and listened to every word she said. However, Sakuya was not a tyrant. She treated everyone with care and helped whenever possible. Due to the random outbreaks, Sakuya spent most of her time hiding in the abandoned part of the mansion. The damage she caused was not of her own free will, but rather that of Dracula. Now, she needed to find a way to overcome her new powers and control the dark lord himself.

"The tea is ready," chimed Koakuma as she walked around the desk holding a tray and three cups. "Please enjoy."

Patchouli and Sakuya thanked her and continued reading their books. Koakuma gave an uneasy glance and returned to organizing the desk.

After some time, Patchy broke the silence. "Sakuya, what do you think happened to Remilia?"

Sakuya looked up from the grimoire and remembered the battle.

"I don't know. When Dracula took over… I became lost in darkness. Hopefully she's safe, my master…"

"You really love her, don't you?"

"Well… yes. Remilia gave me another chance at living as myself and not just as a puppet. For that, I owe her my life many times over."

"What would you do if I told you that I know where she is?"

Sakuya nearly jumped out of her chair, but controlled herself and calmly approached the opportunity. "Please, what do you know? And how do you know?"

"I sent a low level familiar out to follow her. It reports back to me through this book right here in my hands." Patchy motioned to the book she had been reading the entire time. "This shows exactly what it sees in a moving image, what the outside world calls a video."

Sakuya looked, and sure enough, she saw Remilia walking with Reimu, Marisa, and Yoshika along a dirt path. They seemed to be enjoying themselves somewhat.

Relieved, she let out a sigh and drank her tea.

"They're trying to save you. Do you realize that?"

Sakuya wiped a tear from her eye. It overwhelmed her with incredible joy to know that Remilia was safe. "What are they doing?"

Patchouli continued, "After visiting Eientei for instructions, they set out on a quest to create a powerful potion that will negate the vampiric blood growing in you. But it's almost impossible."

"Why?"

"Because the last item they need does not exist in this universe. It lies forgotten in a parallel realm that was sealed away before Gensokyo was created. In other words, the item is hidden somewhere in the Gensokyo-before-Gensokyo."

A look of concern came across Sakuya's face. She worried that Remilia would be hurt trying to save her.

At that moment, a voice spoke inside Sakuya's head. _Ah, so that's where the little blue haired one went. You were quite attached if I'm not mistaken._

The hair on her neck stood up as she listened to the voice echo in her mind. Without breaking composure, she responded.

What are you doing?

_Oh nothing. I just find it interesting that my daughter of all vampires would be trying to destroy me and save you, a human. Well, maybe not so human anymore hmm?_

Don't you dare harm her! I will defeat you a second time!

_How foolish. You can barely stand my power as it is now, and I haven't even regained half of it. What do you think is going to happen next?_

Sakuya knew there was no way she could overcome Dracula in her current state. It was only a matter of time before he took her body and she became his puppet.

"Are you alright?" Patchouli gave her a questioning look.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. Just a headache…"

"Come here. I actually came across some useful information today while reading that grimoire."

Sakuya leaned close and allowed Patchouli to place her hand on her forehead. It was soft and warm, expected of someone who did not perform much physical activity.

A light came from Patchy's hand and Sakuya felt her mind clear and lighten.

"That was a spell I found in the grimoire. It will help bolster your mind and spirit against Dracula. You should find resisting him a little easier now and if anything, this will buy Remilia more time."

"Thank you. I can't lose to him, not now."

"Just don't overdo it."

Sakuya got up and walked over to a large window on the side of the library. The moon was beginning to set. It appeared reddish like blood and excited her slightly.

_You can feel it, can't you? Why don't you just embrace what you are already?_

No, never.

_Haha, as expected of the head maid of my daughter, stubborn until the end, yet graceful and elegant. I like it. _

What do you want? I have no trouble controlling you now.

_Don't get too sure of yourself. That bolster will help you for a while, but I will become too strong to resist eventually. _

Can you not leave me in peace?

_I don't like to speak unnecessarily. I thought perhaps you should know that my daughter and her friends interest me. They deserve a present for their determination, don't you think? _

What are you planning?!

_Oh nothing. But perhaps you should watch in the book over there to find out, hm?_

Sakuya immediately returned to Patchouli and asked her what Remilia was doing.

"Same as before. Are you that concerned?"

"I have a feeling that their walk is about to be interrupted by something… But I don't know what. It bothers me greatly."

"Well, it doesn't appear like any- hold on… What's that!?"

Meiling ran through the forest in search of Reimu's party. She needed to find them, and fast. Something that looked like a black mist floated up from the mansion and began moving towards the Forest of Magic. Her senses indicated that it was evil and had only the intention to kill.

"Oh man, where are you?" she grumbled to herself.

The pendant that Patchouli gave her allowed the conversation with Sakuya to be transmitted into her mind, acting as a sort of radio. That's what the outside world called it anyway.

This gave Meiling vital information as to the condition of Remilia and the mansion itself.

Right after the battle, Patchouli gave Meiling the pendant and told her to listen for instructions through it. Until then, she was to stay away from the mansion and hide until further notice. This was the support Patchy expected Reimu would need in the coming journey.

A shadow loomed in front of her, blocking her path.

"Dammit, guess I'll just have to plow through then!"

The shadow formed itself into an imitation of Meiling and imitated her for every move.

"Aw c'mon, seriously?" she whined loudly. "Whatever, I'll still kick your butt!"

Meiling lunged forward with a battle cry to land the first blow.

Dawn was a few hours away.


	5. Chapter 5

Reimu and her companions were traveling to the Forest of Magic, hoping to obtain a mushroom under Eirin's instructions. Marisa led the way with Reimu, Remilia, and Yoshika trailing behind. The moon was beginning to set over the horizon, becoming a reddish glow that looked like a blood drop in the sky, only visible through various patches of trees.

It was still dark, but the forest was cool and serene. The fallen leaves of autumn crunched under their feet while a night breeze gently shook the nearly barren branches of the trees. An occasional owl could be heard calling.

This peace was the last the land of Gensokyo would ever experience.

Marisa halted the group and pointed towards an injured girl lying on the path. She was beaten badly and had several cuts and bruises. Blood stained her clothes and the ground, making a grizzly sight.

Remilia shouted out and ran towards her. "Oh my god, Meiling! What happened to you?!" She held the limp body in her arms and felt for a pulse, "… still alive. If she wasn't a youkai, then…" A tear ran down her face and she hugged Meiling tightly.

Reimu felt relieved and at the same time uneasy. Remilia had never acted this way before and now, the once confident and composed vampire was reduced to a crying emotional girl. It didn't seem right at all, but even Gensokyo was not as it should be.

"Let's take her to Alice's place, it wouldn't be safe to leave her like this," suggested Marisa.

The party agreed and Meiling was placed on the witch's broom. With a little magic, it acted as a comfortable stretcher that let the injured gatekeeper stretch out on an invisible bed. It was the best they could do until they reached Alice's house.

"What do you think she was doing out here?" asked Reimu.

Remilia shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe she was headed in the same direction?"

At that moment, Yoshika hopped forward with her eyes glowing red and yelled, "Something's coming!"

A shadowy figure appeared ahead of the party and was walking steadily towards them. It had no definite shape, but seemed to imitate a human form. Black claws reaching the ground stretched out from its arms and two blood red dots were its eyes.

The forest melted and shriveled around it and the air became heavy with the scent of death.

"Ugh, it's making me nauseous," groaned Marisa.

Remilia let out a bloodcurdling howl and her wings grew several times in size. Her nails became deadly claws and a powerful aura surrounded her.

"YOU DID THIS TO HER, DIDN'T YOU" growled a voice that was hardly recognizable as the vampire princess. "I'LL KILL YOU!" yelled Remilia as she lunged forward.

"No wait!" called Reimu.

The dark figure dodged Remilia as she lunged forward and swiftly cut one of her wings with a slash so fast that no one was able to see it.

"GUH?!" grunted the vampire in surprise as she tumbled onto the ground. Blood poured profusely from her wing that was nearly torn in two. "What the? How could I…?"

"We need to run! There's no way we can face that thing!" yelled Reimu.

The dark figure began to walk towards the rest of the party while flexing its claws. Its eyes were fixated on the injured Meiling and a growl began to emanate from it.

Marisa guided the broom behind her and began running into the forest. "Follow me! I know how to get to Alice's! We'll lose it on the way!"

Yoshika pulled out a spell card and chanted something unintelligible. She then turned into a floating cloud and began to follow the path Marisa took.

Reimu looked over at Remilia who was holding her injured wing in pain and glaring at the dark figure angrily. She was not intent on running away so easily.

"I… can't… give up, not now," growled the angered vampire. "I will kill this thing, for the sake of everyone."

The shadow was not following Marisa into the forest at all. It turned instead to Remilia and looked at her with piercing red eyes. Then, with a sickening tearing sound, a large gap tore across its face, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth and it smiled an insane hostile smile.

"C'mon Remilia, we need to get out of here!" yelled Reimu in a desperate attempt to get the vampire's attention.

However, she didn't move and stood transfixed as the shadow began to walk slowly towards her with its mouth wide and claws flicking back and forth, _schwick- schwick_.

Reimu ran over and grabbed her shoulder and realized that she was shaking. "Remilia!" There was an empty look in her eyes and she didn't move.

_Schwick-schwick._

"Dammit!" cursed the miko as she reached into her dress and pulled out a spell card. "I have no choice then," she grumbled and began to focus her energy into the card. "_The fool wanders and the dream ends, leaves turn to ash and rivers flow gold, the final border, Musou Tensei!"_

A powerful aura surrounded Reimu as she summoned her strongest Danmaku and fired everything she had towards the shadow. Amidst the explosions and dust resulting from her attack, she grabbed Remilia and summoned another spell card, "Fantasy Seal, Blink," and escaped the area.

As she ran with Remilia, Reimu did not look back once and had no idea whether or not the enemy was following. Eventually, they reached Alice's home and greeted Yoshika who was standing guard outside. It seemed like they lost the shadow.

"Everyone's waiting inside," said the Chinese vampire with a stout salute.

Reimu gave her a nod and entered the house.

The inside was comparable to what the outside world described as "Santa's Workshop." Unfinished dolls rested on tables with tools strewn about and various blueprints with plans for different types of dolls were tacked on the wall. A few bookshelves lined the walls along with cabinets and various supply closets. Another room in back was Alice's bedroom.

One of the tables had been converted to a bed and had Meiling recovering on it. Her wounds were already bandaged and the bloody clothes had been changed with some of Alice's robes. Puppets floated above her body with little nurse caps and monitored her status. She was looking alright.

Marisa was busily browsing the book collection. Her attention had been drawn by a pinkish book with an unintelligible title. Looking closer, Reimu saw a small rivulet of blood seeping out of her nose.

Alice came out of her room and waved. "Reimu, they told me everything. Is Remilia with you?"

"Yeah, she's right here," she replied while stepping aside to allow the vampire to walk in.

"Hello Alice."

"Hey Remi." Alice walked over to one of the supply closets and began digging around for something. "Meiling is doing fine now, I managed to bandage her wounds and clean her up."

Remilia nodded in thanks and sat on a chair in the corner.

"I was cleaning this morning and went outside to throw away some garbage when a really dark cloud passed overhead. It was headed in the same direction you guys just came from. Does it have anything to do with what you're running from?"

Reimu shrugged and leaned against the wall. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Well, the sun will rise soon. You'll have to excuse me then while I continue working on the dolls. But aside from that, any reason you guys chose my place to go to?"

Marisa put the book back on the shelf and walked over. Two small rivulets of blood still ran from her nose. "Ah, sorry Alice. It was the first place that came to mind back there."

Alice sighed and shrugged. "Whatever. I don't mind seeing you, but it was kinda sudden."

"Heh heh, sorry."

The night sky was turning a light blue and the horizon began to seep an orange glow. Reimu looked out a window and watched the last of the stars disappear.

Yoshika banged open the door and yelled, "it's back! That thing followed us here!"

"What?!" exclaimed Marisa.

Everyone ran outside and prepared to fight. Something moved in the forest and rustled the trees and bushes. Then, the shadow stepped out and stood in front of the party. Its mouth was closed.

"Tch, what do we do?" asked Marisa in a stressed tone.

"We don't have much choice," replied Reimu as she pulled out a talisman. "There's no way we can get away from it, we have to fight."

The shadow swayed back and forth and slowly looked at each girl until it saw Remilia. It growled loudly, shaking the ground and opened its mouth, revealing the rows of razor sharp teeth and smiled insanely.

Remilia stepped forward and sharpened her nails. Reimu grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Don't! You're still hurt, we can handle this. Just rest and stay back."

She shot Reimu an angered look, but understood and stepped back.

"Alright, let's go Marisa!"

"Gotcha!"

The miko and the witch lunged forward and attacked the shadow. It easily countered both of them and sent them flying into the trees.

"GUH," gasped Reimu as she struck with tremendous force. The wood cracked behind her back and she slid to the ground. Marisa had suffered the same and was struggling back to her feet.

"Hah, hah, hah… Reimu… we can't take it down like this. I'll shoot and you hit it with a seal up close!"

"Mnnng, gotcha."

The two girls got up and lunged forward again. Marisa jumped on her broom and circled in front of the shadow, firing lasers. It deflected each one and appeared distracted. Reimu ran behind it with a purification seal ready and lunged forward to slap it onto its back. The shadow dodged to the side with extreme speed and allowed a flurry of lasers to pelt Reimu head on. She was blown back unconscious.

"Reimu!" yelled Marisa in shock.

The shadow appeared behind the witch and knocked her unconscious with a blow to the back before she could react.

Remilia watched in desperation as her friends were being beaten badly.

Alice sent her dolls forward and got them back in shreds.

"What?! That's not possible! How could my dolls…"

The shadow laughed and released a powerful psychic wave which knocked her on her feet.

"Agh!" grunted Alice as she fell onto the ground. She sat up and began shaking her head. "I-I can't focus my magic at all! What is this?!"

With a movement too fast for the youkai eye to see, Alice was knocked out by one of her dolls thrown by the shadow. She fell to the ground unconscious.

Yoshika hopped forward with a spell card and began disseminating a thick cloud of danmaku at the enemy. It didn't move and was seemingly obliterated by the barrage. All of a sudden, the dirt and dust was blown away and the shadow grabbed her by the throat in an instant. It was too fast to react to, and Yoshika struggled helplessly as the life was crushed out of her. She couldn't hold on any longer and went limp.

The shadow tossed her body aside and turned to Remilia. It was still smiling insanely.

"DAMN YOU!" growled Remilia in fury. She released her magic and flexed her claws. Her wings were still healing and prevented her from moving at high speeds.

With a flick of the shadow's claw, a large gash was torn open in the vampire's side.

She gasped and fell to her knees. Gathering her energy and courage, she got back up and lunged forward. Slash after slash, she struck out at her target in a vain attempt to land a hit, but every attack was blocked and deflected.

Another flick of its claws and Remilia suffered a deep wound from her shoulder down to the opposite hip. She lost her balance and fell backwards and was grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air.

Desperately, she beat on its arms to get loose, but to no avail. Her vision was getting blurry and the world began to spin. Losing hope, she realized that there was nothing that she could do and began to give up.

_I'm too weak. If I can't even protect my friends or myself, how could I possibly hope to save Sakuya? I… I… might as well just let go and…_

The shadow lifted its claw and prepared to pierce Remilia's heart, smiling ever wider.

She closed her eyes and stopped struggling, accepting her inevitable death. Images of the residents of the mansion and all the youkai of Gensokyo came into her mind. And then, she watched one last memory of Sakuya serving her tea and sitting by her bedside. It was a happy memory.

Even if Remilia was a vampire, she had not fed on blood since visiting Reimu a month ago. That was long enough to make her regenerative abilities slow and weak, so an injury like a pierced heart that wouldn't usually be, was now near-fatal. She would be put into a coma for a very long time, recovering slowly. The miasma that the shadow released however, would prevent Remilia from healing and in effect kill her.

Remilia waited for the shadow to strike and began to wonder what it was doing. She felt it lift her up and pull its claw back farther, and then her mind went blank as she understood the instant it launched its claw forward. Her acceptance in that moment was final, with no regrets.

The strike never came. A painful burning sensation began to overcome the vampire. The shadow's hold on her throat lightened and Remilia was able to breathe. She opened her eyes and realized that the sun had risen over the horizon and was hitting the shadow and her. It shook and screamed, unable to move in the light. Remilia forced herself out of its grasp and dropped to the ground, crawling to the shade of the trees to recover.

The shadow screamed and began to change. Tendrils of smoke arose from it and dissipated into the air.

Remilia looked on horrified as she stared into the face of Sakuya. The shadow had assumed her form and was looking back, but then finally dissipated completely.

The vampire's mind was blank and the world began to grow dark. She fell back against a tree and passed out.

"… Ow! … what ar… oing? Sto… oking… that alre…." Voices went in and out of Remilia's head as she slowly regained consciousness.

"Hey! It look… is getting… up!"

"Good, get some blo…."

Remilia groaned and struggled up to a sitting position. She was covered in bandages and felt incredibly sore. Blood stains were visible on the surface of the bandages. Her sight slowly came into focus and she realized that she was in Alice's home on a makeshift bed. Reimu and Marisa were sitting on another table wearing bandages and getting checked over by Alice. Yoshika was hopping around healthily and helping by retrieving supplies. The sun was filtering through the windows.

"Glad to see you're awake," said an unfamiliar voice.

Remilia looked up and saw someone she hadn't seen that often.

"Don't worry about Yoshika; I have the ability to revive her as many times as I need because, you know, she's my Jiang Shi."

"Seiga?"

The hermit was walking over with a vial filled with blood. "That's right, I'm Seiga Kaku. I've only visited you a couple of times so far, so of course you didn't recognize me at first."

Remilia looked at the blood and back at Seiga.

"Drink this, you need it."

The vampire princess hesitated but took the vial and drank the blood. She felt revitalized instantly and her wounds began to close up quickly. Her body regained strength very fast because it was the pure blood of a virgin maiden.

"Who did you get it from?"

Seiga innocently whistled and looked up. Remilia noticed Reimu watching and turned to look at her.

Reimu immediately looked away and appeared to blush.

"Ah, of course," smiled Remilia. "Wait, how is Meiling?"

A voice came from across the room. "I'm fine now mistress." She was sitting on a table and kicking her legs.

Remilia saw Meiling and a wave of relief came over her. Everyone was okay, that was enough for her.

"Meiling, are you interested in perhaps being _my_ Jiang Shi?" Seiga was walking over to her with a creepy look on her face.

Meiling was taken aback and tried to refuse. "Huh?! W-wait, I don't think that's really… I'm okay so there's no need for that, right? You already have Yoshika, isn't that enough?"

"Well, one can't have too many helpers… and slaves."

"What?! No wait, don't touch me there…"

Remilia stopped listening to them and turned to look out of a window. She recalled the final moments of the battle with the shadow. There was something that bothered her deeply. It should have pierced her heart much faster, but… it was if it waited just long enough to be stopped by the sun. And then, when it was about to disappear, the shadow took on the form of Sakuya. Remilia was perplexed by it, but a faint hope began to take hold in her heart. Perhaps Sakuya wasn't completely evil and actually had something to do with the shadow's hesitation…

Reimu came over and sat next to her. She looked out into the light and sighed. "Well, we made it through the night. But how did you win?"

"Well, it might have been luck, but the sun came up and destroyed the shadow. But maybe…"

"What?"

"Ah, nothing."

Marisa was bothering Alice as she tried to change her bandages. "Hey Alice, can we ask another favor of you?"

"What do you want now?" she responded in an annoyed tone.

"The real reason we came was for something else actually. We need help finding a mushroom."

"A mushroom?"

"Yeah, it's called a Soul-less Black Mushroom. Know about it?"

Alice stopped changing Marisa's bandages and pulled a book off of the shelf. "Well, it certainly is a legend, albeit with a rather… generic name. Here, the mushroom you need has only been collected three times throughout history and they were all taken by… Eirin Yagokoro."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"Nope. She already got three of those. Didn't you say you came here because of her? Strange, she didn't come herself…"

"Then, wouldn't she have some left over at Eientei?"

"That's also been documented. It says here that she used all the mushrooms for some kind of enhancement to, erm, the _chest area_… it seems."

Marisa began to rage.

"Well, when you're all feeling better today, we can go and look for it."

The angry witch instantly stopped and began to squeal. "Really? You'll help us? Oh, I love you Alice!" yelled Marisa and intimately hugged Alice.

She immediately blushed and escaped into her room. Heavy breathing could be heard from it.

Reimu put her hand on Remilia's shoulders. The vampire accepted the gesture and put her hand over Reimu's.

"I'm sure the real Sakuya is still watching over you, Remilia. There's no way that someone like her would ever leave you."

"You're right. I can't lose hope, I'm sure she's still out there. I'm very sure in fact."

"Hm? You're very confident about that."

"Well, let's just say that I've had my life saved by her more than once."

Reimu nodded and looked out the window at the sky. It was still morning.

Marisa was bouncing around the house and singing. Every so often, a book or doll disappeared as she passed by it.

Yoshika was still hopping around with supplies and Seiga was molesting a struggling Meiling. Alice had just come out of her room with heavy sweat. She seemed… tired. Marisa was still "dancing."

With an excited leap into the air, Marisa exclaimed, "Let's go find some shrooms, ze!"


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was reaching the peak of its orbit as Reimu's party emerged from a thicket of trees into a clearing. Marisa led the way on her broom with Alice and the others in tow, occasionally picking a mushroom and popping it into her mouth. Remilia had an umbrella to shield her from the inconvenient rays of sun. Yoshika looked a little nauseated from all the spores in the air, but the talisman on her forehead protected her from the sun. Seiga was back at Alice's house tending to the still recovering Meiling. There was no sign of the Soul-less Black Mushroom.

There wasn't much to say between the members of the group, except for maybe a comment or two about the weather. Even that was stretching it a little bit.

A snoring noise halted their progress. It sounded like someone was sleeping in a tree nearby.

"Hey, you hear that?" asked Marisa.

Reimu nodded.

"I'm gonna check in this tree right here…"

She grabbed her broom and began jabbing the leaves of a tree furiously. A high pitched yelp came out followed by a small youkai. Annoyed, it looked up at the ones who disturbed its sleep and immediately became terrified.

"W-w-what do you want?" stammered the youkai.

"Why are you sleeping out here, Wriggle?" questioned Marisa.

The nightbug was trying desperately not to scream in terror, but answered as calmly as she could. "W-well, I was flying around this morning before the sun was going to rise and I found a cave. There was a lot of noise coming from it like a dragon or something scary, but I didn't go in. I was too scared to."

"Why were you scared?" Marisa looked annoyed.

Wriggle began to plead for her life with both hands in front of her face. "It was really scary! Please, don't hurt me or anything… I just couldn't do it! I came to this tree and waited for something to happen, but the sun came up and I fell asleep!" She sounded like she was about to cry.

The witch puffed out her chest. "You should be ashamed of yourself, ze! A nightbug should never be afraid to venture into the darkness of the unknown! Why, if it weren't for my moral standards, I would…"

Reimu had stopped listening entirely to the conversation, if you could call it one. She looked forward deeper into the forest and could make out what appeared to be a cave. Listening closely and over Marisa's lecture, it sounded like dragon breathing. Remilia noticed it as well and walked over to Reimu. They both look at each other in acknowledgment.

"… and for that, you should pay a thousand suns with interest! So don't ever be afraid to die for your sins!" Marisa had just finished her scolding, although it seemed to have gone off track near the end.

Wriggle grimaced in pain as she had endured the punishment and rubbed her ears when it was over. "Geez, what are you? A judge of black and white or something?"

That was her fatal mistake.

Within seconds of her life, Wriggle was tied up in a rope and dangled off the end of Marisa's broom. She cried and cried for mercy, but none was given.

In a commanding voice, Marisa told her, "Now, point us in the direction to go. Er, since you can't point, tell us and don't lie… or else."

Through salty tears, the nightbug managed to give a direction to go. "Uguu, o-over there, sniff."

Remilia took the lead and pointed out the cave in the distance. "Yeah, it's over there." Everyone followed suit.

The closer they got, the more Wriggle struggled and cried. She was getting loud enough to bother even a rock. Before things could get out of hand, they reached the entrance to the cave. It looked just like a dragon's maw with smoke billowing out of the sides.

"Please! Let me go!" cried the weak little bug.

Marisa untied her bonds and she immediately flew away crying. A sparkling trail followed her sobbing escape over the trees.

"Hah, well. Here we are."

Remilia stepped in first without a word. She had been very quiet the entire time. Marisa shrugged and went in next. Reimu began to step forward but noticed that something was missing. Yoshika and Alice had disappeared.

Apparently the spores from the mushrooms were getting to Yoshika and she began to fall behind. Alice noticed and stayed with her to make sure she was okay. They strayed further and further away from the group until finally, the Chinese vampire passed out with a stupid look on her face. Drool dribbled down her face and she was twitching on the ground… badly. Alice tried to call out to the rest of the party, but they were too far away, so she picked up the vampire and carried her back to the house while listening to an incessant line of gibberish from her. Yoshika had been badly affected by the "secondary effects," caused by the mushrooms.

Without missing a beat, Reimu turned and walked into the cave.

There was no room to walk two abreast, so the party went in single file. It was dark and damp with little fluorescent mushrooms growing along the walls and the ground. The temperature rose the deeper they ventured into the cave, causing a sweat to appear on everyone's forehead.

Eventually, the mushrooms disappeared and left no source of light to show the party which way to go. Remilia took this golden opportunity to show her magic and summoned a ball of flame to lead forward. It lighted the way once more and they continued.

"Ack, dammit! I keep slipping on these frickin rocks! Are you guys having trouble at all?" whined Marisa as she continually stumbled in front of Reimu.

"No."

"Nope."

"Waaaaah!" Marisa groaned in anger and slipped immediately.

"Just stay out of my way already," complained a very annoyed Reimu. She was constantly stopping and stepping over Marisa.

The roaring sounds got louder and louder as they progressed and the temperature continued to rise. It was as if they were walking right into hell.

A large chasm loomed ahead of them. Something was raging and writhing in the middle, growling and roaring at the empty walls. The party slowly approached.

As Remilia's light fell upon the unknown figure, it turned abruptly and stared at the party with blood red eyes. It breathed heavily and appeared to have something in its mouth.

"… run… away…." It growled.

Remilia stepped closer and tried to soothe it. "Okuu, are you alright? Let me help you."

Okuu looked insane. She was eating something and had dirt crusted all over her. With a mighty roar, she began to bristle with energy. "No, don't… come any… closer… GRAHHH!" Unable to control herself, she roared loudly and shook the cave with her power.

"Wooaahh!" yelled Marisa in surprise. Everyone was knocked back by a powerful wave of energy and Okuu glowed with light. The events of the Subterranean Animism were repeating themselves.

"We don't have a choice; we've got to fight her!"

Reimu nodded and noticed something. "Hey, what's she standing in?"

Marisa narrowed her eyes and looked at the insane crow's feet. She was standing in a small patch of black mushrooms with purple spots. "Wait are those…"

Remilia was already charging at the crazed crow. She barely dodged out of the way as a large energy beam shot past her and struck the entrance to the cave. It collapsed and became sealed, trapping the party inside the cavern with Okuu. The temperature was rising quickly.

"Let's go Marisa!" yelled Reimu.

"Right ze!"

The miko launched forward and was immediately assaulted by a barrage of danmaku. It moved extremely fast and kept her from getting close. Marisa was faring the same and Remilia could only keep up just enough to avoid being destroyed. Okuu was firing beams and releasing a powerful energy that continually heated up the room.

It was impossible for the party to even touch Okuu for she was too powerful. The mushroom she ate was amplifying her power far beyond its normal capacity. Her danmaku was almost impossible to dodge and destroyed the sides of the cavern.

"We can't do anything to her Reimu! What now?!" yelled Marisa in between dodging lasers and beams.

Reimu didn't have any idea. She was too busy trying to stay alive to worry about attacking.

Remilia was getting tired. The heat began to get to her and slow her down. It wouldn't be too long before someone got hit.

There was a loud roar and Okuu began to shake violently. Her eyes glowed with rage and her mouth stretched open in fury. With a single growl that matched any that a god could muster, she released a seismic wave so powerful that it knocked the party back against the walls of the cave, incapacitating them.

"GUH!" grunted Marisa loudly in pain. She struck extremely hard and was cratered in the wall. A spurt of blood came out of her mouth as she tried to breathe.

Reimu was also injured badly. Blood was coming down her forehead and dribbled from her mouth. Her eyes were shut in pain and she grimaced as the shock subsided.

Remilia was already knocked out. She slid off the wall and slumped to the ground. There was no sign that she was still alive at all.

Okuu roared with a primal strength that shook the entire chasm and began to absorb the energy in the air into her cape. The incapacitated party could not resist as they were sucked in closer and closer.

"… Reimu…" groaned Marisa as she was dragged into the cape. "I'll… try to find… you…" but she was cut off as she disappeared.

Remilia limply tumbled forward and was sucked in. Reimu saw her unconscious face before it disappeared. It may have been the last of her she would ever see.

Her vision was blurry and the sounds were dull. Reimu could barely feel as she was being pulled in. The inside of the cape was dark and looked like the emptiness of space, a cold unknown that no one knew much about. And then, she felt herself get sucked in completely and felt nothing. She lost consciousness and disappeared into nothingness.

Satori was standing over an unconscious miko lying in her bed. She had fallen out of a black hole earlier and was injured badly, so Satori took her into her home and began to nurse her back to health. Koishi was on the surface doing something.

Reimu awoke and sat up suddenly. She was struck instantly by a sharp jolt of pain through her entire body and fell back into the bed. Looking around, she saw Satori standing over her with an emotionless expression.

"Hey, what were you doing today?" asked Satori.

Reimu remembered the encounter with Okuu, but felt too much pain to speak.

"Ah, I see. So that's what happened to my pet." Satori had read her mind. "I don't know where Marisa or Remilia is at, so don't bother asking. You should just stay there and rest. Koishi will be back soon with medicine." She left the room, leaving Reimu alone.

A lot of emotions welled up in the miko. She didn't know where everyone else was at, but more importantly, whether they were alive or not. It was very worrisome. The mushrooms were in Okuu's possession, but given how crazy she was, they were probably destroyed by now. It seemed like a hopeless journey.

Satori came in with a tray of tea. She set it down on a table next to the bed and slowly helped Reimu sit up. "Drink this, it will ease the pain."

With her help, the miko slowly sipped the tea. It was warm and immediately soothed the aches that pulsed in her body.

"You'll have to tell me what happened to you. I might help."

Reimu nodded and stared into the tea cup. She watched the tea swirl around and thought of the space in Okuu's cape. The journey really was turning out to be hopeless.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been about a week now since the encounter with Okuu in the cave. Reimu was nearly recovered from her injuries and was meditating outside when Satori came back.

"Good news. I know where your friends are."

Reimu broke her concentration and the yin yang orbs that floated around her disappeared. "Where?"

Satori sat down, "Marisa is on Tengu Mountain and Remilia is at Myouren Temple. Both are doing fine, much like you are."

Relief came over Reimu and she relaxed. "Well, what now?"

"You told me earlier about finding some items?"

"Right… I need help getting things to cure Sakuya. But so far…"

"No, I know. In fact, you can take from my garden right over there if you'd like. I think I have what it is you seek."

"Really?"

"Yes."

As she walked over, a smell of unbelievable potency caused Reimu to stumble in her tracks.

"Whoa. What the-"

"It's my garden. A bit… unusual so to speak," said Satori gliding up next to the retching Reimu. "You'll get used to it."

"What's in there…?" And then she saw that the garden wasn't really a typical garden. It only had rocks and mushrooms.

Reimu nearly vomited on the ground. Satori leaned in close to her.

"Surely you remember we're underground? What else can I have?"

"Don't you have a – ugh, plant inside the house?"

"That one is from Eientei. A gift from Erin, so it's not quite… normal."

The smell was becoming too much and Reimu felt like passing out where she stood. Satori laughed (laughed?!) and put her hand over Reimu's mouth.

"He – mmmhmmmhmm!"

"Just be quiet… be quiet…"

As Satori pulled her hand away, she jumped back to avoid a devastating karate chop.

"What were you – huh? It… It doesn't… smell anymore! I can breathe!"

"That's because this is a magic garden. You just needed some protection is all, so I put a ward over you."

Reimu relaxed and rubbed her neck. "Oh sorry, thanks. So is that what you made me swallow?"

Satori said nothing.

"Satori… what did you give me…?"

"Let's go. Don't you need a mushroom?"

"Hey! Don't change the subject – wait! Wait for me!"

Satori stopped in front of a small patch of black mushrooms with red polka dots. Reimu followed, panting heavily next to her.

"Da… dammit… you…"

"Here, isn't this the mushroom you need?"

As Reimu caught her breath and realized the mushrooms were the same ones that Okuu had eaten, Satori kneeled down plucked one up. It immediately withered and died, becoming a dried up piece of… something.

Reimu looked in surprise. "Huh? Wait, why did it just…?"

"You see? It's impossible to take it back with you. Well, alive anyways. Rinnosuke actually has a bunch of it in his store in the dried form. You can use it in tea or soup to cure aches."

"But, if it only works right when it's alive, how am I supposed to…"

Satori shook her head. "It's impossible."

Reimu felt a pain in her heart as despair and desperation began to take hold. She needed the mushroom… somehow… anything would do.

"Wait! Will it stay alive if I transport it in its soil?"

Satori thought for a moment. "Maybe… try it."

Stooping down, Reimu carefully dug out a large portion of the soil with the mushroom. It didn't die.

"It worked! Satori!"

"Yes… But…"

Reimu shot her a questioning look. "What?"

"You see, the mushroom stays alive by absorbing magic through the soil, so…"

"So? Will it run out?"

"Well, do you feel… light headed? Weak? Dizzy maybe?"

"No. I don't…"

A wave of nausea came over Reimu and she stumbled. "Wha -?!"

Everything went black.

"… Reimu… Reimu… Hey… wake up… wake up! Reimu!

She awoke with a jolt and sat straight up and noticed she was back in the same bed as before.

"Wha –What happened?"

Satori was standing over her with the mushroom in a jar. Pink glowing crystals were stuck around it.

"You passed out from having your energy drained."

"Then… why didn't you pass out when you picked up the mushroom?"

"I had these crystals," she pointed to the pink glowing crystals in the jar, "to supplement my magic."

"Oh… wait. Those wouldn't happen to be irradiated gems, would they?"

"Yes."

"I need some of those as well. And a pure soul too. Do you think Orin is around?"

Satori thought a moment. "I can get you more of these gems in a bag, but I haven't seen my pet in a long time… She could be on the surface like Okuu for all I know."

"Ah… well, I guess I'll have to find her too then. Anyways…"

Reimu began to get out of bed, but stopped halfway. "Hey… how long has it been?"

"Just an hour. You recovered your lost energy very quickly, it was quite remarkable."

"So, it drained my energy just by touch…"

Satori set the jar down on a table. "Always keep it in this jar with the crystals. This should keep it alive for… about two months. I'll give you a bag of extra gems on your way out."

"On my way out?"

"Yes, Koishi will be here soon to get you. You'll be back on the surface in no time."

Nodding, Reimu got out of bed, but stopped when she realized that she was completely naked. "Hey! Where are my clothes? What did you…?"

Satori stood there and watched Reimu, slowly taking in her thighs and breasts, before coming to a halt at her eyes. "Such a nice body you have…"

Reimu immediately grabbed the blanket off the bed and covered herself with it, watching Satori for any suspicious moves.

"Don't worry. I didn't do what you're thinking, and I know exactly what you're thinking. I didn't… well… maybe a little… But you're still pure. I promise you that."

"… Satori…"

"The reason you're naked is because if I hadn't removed your clothes, you would have died from overheating. The amount of energy your body produced while you were recovering was incredible."

"Eh… really?" Reimu eyed Satori suspiciously.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, Koishi is almost here."

"Ok… but where are my clothes?"

Satori motioned to a large closet. "It's all in there."

"Thanks." As Reimu dropped the blanket and began putting her dress back on, she could feel Satori's gaze slowly move over her body. Putting it out of her mind, she quickly dressed and grabbed the jar. Satori was still standing by the door.

"Well, I'm going out."

Satori didn't say anything and followed Reimu as she walked down the hallway.

At that moment, Koishi's voice rang out. "I'm home! Satori chan! Is Reimu still here?"

Turning the corner, Reimu came face to face with her.

"Ah Reimu! Are you ready to go?"

"Um, yeah, I guess. Oh wait, Satori, do you have those gems for me?"

Satori held out a small sack. "Here."  
"Thanks, and thanks for taking care of me. Alright let's go."

Koishi smiled and led Reimu out the front door. They stopped in the yard.

"Stand right there Reimu."

"Okay…"

Koishi took out a small rune and grabbed Reimu's hand. "Just hold still and don't worry, ok?"

"What's that?"

A blue light began to envelope both of the girls and grew more intense with every second.

"What's going on?!" Yelled a confused and shocked Reimu.

"Don't worry, I'm coming too. We're going back to the surface!"

"Where?!"

Koishi just smiled and giggled. "You'll see!"

Before Reimu could say anymore, she felt everything slip away into nothingness. They were both gone in a flash of blinding light.

Satori had been standing at the door. She sighed and went back inside, enjoying some pictures of a naked Reimu she captured.

Momiji brought in another cup of tea for Marisa who was busily browsing the cabinets and drawers again.

"Marisaaaa, I told you the flowers weren't in there."

The witch quickly stopped and straightened out her dress. "Right, I forgot. Sorry."

With a sigh, Momiji continued, "Well, it's taken a week, but we know where they're at."

"The flowers?"

"Yes. Aya found them on the Summit this morning, but they're guarded by a… well… a large bird of sorts."

"What kind of bird?"

Momiji blushed, "Well, let's just say that Aya is being a bit… distracted right now…"

Marisa grabbed her broom and a few spell cards off the table. Momiji followed her out the door.

"I'll be back soon! Make me some tea for when I get back!"

Momiji waved and said goodbye. "Ok then I'll have some… wait a minute! You didn't even drink the cup that I just… oh whatever."

Marisa was already at the summit. As she rose over the top, the next thing she saw nearly made her lose her balance on the broom.

"A-A-Aya?!"


End file.
